Straus Tobacconist

Love theses guys great selection great prices and friendly service! If you want to light up in shop they will go over any questions you may have. Give it a try

This place is as good as it gets! They have a great selection of cigars, accessories, tobacco, and wine. The service is always amazing. I like telling them what I usually like and letting them suggest an alternative. They are the best at that. I cant think of another shop like this within a 100 miles of Cincinnati. The best!

I would like to give a higher rating but this is the most generous I can be. The store has wonderful staff and good customer service. The selection is descent and the prices are reasonable. So why only 3 stars? Every time I go in there the place is full of women smoking cigarettes. They stink up the place and take up all the seating. WTF? I’m not coming in and spending $ 10 on a cigar if I am crowded out by the cigarettes.

In a post-​tobacco settlement world, mainstream use of tobacco product is clearly on the decline. The health costs are well known and there are always other addictive vices to replace tobacco. Within that framework, a handful of dedicated tobacconists still exist to serve the more specialized needs of that dwindling community. Straus Tobacconist is, to my knowledge, the only remaining tobacconist in city core of Cincinnati.
Straus is the downtown destination for cigar and pipe enthusiasts. Having one of the few exceptions carved out of the Ohio Smoking Ban, Straus is a place where tobacco lovers gather to restock, tell stories and enjoy a smoke with friends and strangers alike. Don’t be surprised if you see locally known cigar aficionados such as Oscar Robinson or Andy Furman relaxing with a cigar while telling a tall tale.
Straus has a very strong selection of cigars starting at under a dollar to much much more in climate controlled humidors for you to peruse. The also have a strong pipe selection of bulk flavored tobaccos sold by the ounce, manufactured tins of tobacco as well as an excellent selection of pipes at almost any price point. A variety of accessories for cigars & pipes are available, as well. Prices for most products are reasonable, despite the costs of a downtown location.
The employees are incredibly knowledgeable enthusiasts themselves and are more than happy to give advice. Testing samples for friendly customers are not unheard of, either. They’re glad to have your business whether you’re buying a $ 10 cigar for an afternoon walk or a $ 200 pipe as a gift for your dad.
Straus also has a small selection of wines for the kind of emergency that requires bottles of wine downtown.
You probably aren’t a cigar or pipe smoker and might even have a personal aversion to tobacco, but the country has an incredibly strong traditional relationship with tobacco and there is something just a bit nostalgic about still having a few of these businesses around for local enthusiasts and traveler alike. If you are ever in need of a celebratory cigar or thoughtful gift for an aficionados, you can’t go wrong with Straus Tobacconist.

This was my first visit and I am very impressed. They have a great selection of cigars and very knowledgeable people working there. I picked up a few cigars for our family Christmas festivities and I think the in-​laws will be impressed with what I got. If you are a cigar or pipe aficionado, this is the place to go!

Nice selection of cigars. I usually find myself wandering across the river for cigars though as prices are a little lower due to lower taxes.
As for pipe tobacco, this is my place. Nice selection of house blends (or privately labeled blends by Lane etc.). The guys there are very friendly and will help you select based on your experiences with other blends. They also don’t mind measuring out a bunch of 1oz’ers for sampling.
My only hangup is the lack of the higher end tins that I would like to try out on occasion. If they were there it would be a 5 star for sure!

I can’t in good conscience recommend this place to anyone with asthma, what with the prodigious amount of smoke clouding the place. Imagine sitting in the smokestack of a 19^th century London factory. Yeah. Simply by walking in you increase your chances of emphysema by 2 percentage points. Of course, you’re coming here to buy tobacco anyway, so it’s not as though you’re really fleeing from carcinogens.
As such, you’ve picked a good place to get enjoy your path to lung cancer. Straus has a nice selection of cigars and well-​informed staff to guide you through the various lengths and origins. They’re so dedicated to the craft that they are often smoking one of their samples while discussing Cohibas vs Romeo y Julietas. Imagine how hilarious liquor stores would be if they followed this policy.
Straus also has their own pipe tobacco blends, of which I happen to cherish the Queen City blend especially. And of course they have whatever instruments are necessary to facilitate your bad habit. Plus, if you need something to tipple while you puff, they have an adequate wine selection in an adjoining room.